Foundation colour match

What’s Your Undertone?

Undertones can be an intimidating concept even for the most seasoned beauty experts. An easy mistake is looking for a foundation that only matches the surface of your skin: your skin tone. But there’s a lot more to it than that: your undertone, the underlying colour beneath your skin surface. 

“Skin tones and undertones are two very different things. Your skin tone will range between fair, light, medium, deep or very deep, to name a few. As for undertones, most people will fall into three categories: cool, warm and neutral. Undertones have got nothing to do with how dark or light your complexion is. This means that any skin tone can have neutral, cool or warm undertones – there’s no such thing that a fair skin can’t be warm or a deep skin can’t be cool!” Fred says– YSLBeauty National Artist.

Whilst your skin tone may change according to the season, your undertone will always stay the same. Your undertone will correspond with the foundation shade you choose – in other words: identifying the right undertone makes a big difference when ensuring a foundation colour match that is a perfect match for you.

First and foremost, Fred recommends looking at the veins on your wrist; you’ve got cool undertones if your veins are blue, neutral if they’re blue/green, and warm if they’re green.

If you’re still uncertain, try a jewellery test next to make sure you nail your undertone once and for all! If gold jewellery looks more flattering against your skin, you have a warm undertone. If silver suits you better, your undertone is cool, and if they both do the trick, you likely have a neutral undertone.

Those with warm undertones tend to have golden, yellow or olive hues to their skin, whilst those with cool undertones typically have pink, red, or bluish hues to their complexion. A mixture of both pink and yellow hues is typical of neutral undertones.

At YSL we make it easy by labelling every foundation with the undertone it suits. Foundations labelled with B are best for those with neutral undertones; warm undertone foundation is labelled with BD and the label BR identifies foundation for cool undertones. To find out more, put our Foundation Finder to the test.

How To Test A Shade

When trying to find the perfect colour match of foundation, avoid testing it on your arm, as this area is usually darker than the skin on your face. Similarly, your neck doesn’t get as much sun as the face, so although you do want a seamless blend from face to neck, you shouldn’t use your neck alone for swatching. Fred’s recommendation is to draw stripes from the bottom of the cheek, over the jawbone to the top of the neck to see how well the shade blends. 

What Are The Signs You’ve Got The Wrong Shade?

There are a few easy hacks to tell if your foundation colour match isn’t quite right, says Fred.

First, you should check if your face and your neck match. The complexion of your neck is pretty close to the complexion of your face – so if you’ve suddenly got a mismatch after putting on foundation, you’ve got the wrong shade.

Secondly, avoid using a darker foundation shade to give yourself a tan. Instead, opt for a bronzer to add extra warmth and enhance your natural features, using a highlighter to create luminosity. Ultimately, foundation should always match your natural skin tone. If there’s a clear shift in tone from your jawline to your neck, you’ll need a new shade.

Thirdly, if your foundation starts to look ashy or grey – it’s too light for your undertone. Foundation will appear ashy if it doesn’t blend with the natural hues beneath the surface of your skin. Go for a foundation with a warmer undertone instead. Similarly, if your foundation is making your skin look orange or red, you should try a foundation for cool undertones instead.

Note to self: whether you’re searching for the best foundation for dark skin, olive skin or pale skin, there’s no one size fits all, because it all depends on the combination of your skin type, specific skin tone and undertones that make you…you. So, take your time and explore. Your perfect foundation shade is out there and now you have all the knowledge you need to find it!